Flush mechanism



March 20, 1962 M. B. GOOSTREE FLUSH MECHANISM Filed March "r, 1961 Kw w r f E a V 0 ,1] I m o B. 6 r 6 M BY m fwmw W A TTOR/WSYS United States Patent Ghtice 3,925,530 Patented Mar. 20, 1962 3,025,530 FLUSH MECHANISM Merle B. Goostree, Germfask, Mich. Filed Mar. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 93,943 4 Claims. (Cl. 4-56) This invention relates to toilet flushing mechanisms and more particularly to a flush mechanism which is capable of use with any of the toilet tanks now in use and which is so designed as to support the movable valve with which such tanks customarily are provided in such a manner as to avoid improper seating of the valve and to minimize valve failure due to the imposition of stresses thereon during the actuation of the flushing mechanism.

One of the most common sources of ditficulty with conventional toilet flushing mechanisms is improper seating of the valve which normally closes the discharge opening of the water tank. Should such valves fail to seat properly, there is a continual drainage of water from the tank. The constant running of water through the toilet because of a faulty valve structure is both annoying and expensive.

Most of the flushing mechanisms currently in use include a hollow, ball type valve having a vertical stem projecting upwardly therefrom and which is connected to one end of an arm that moves in an arcuate path under the influence of an operating handle. The valve stem usually is guided by a guide element attached either to a wall of the tank or to an overflow pipe so as to guide the valve vertically. Inasmuch as the arm that is connected to the valve stem moves in an are, however, either the valve stem guide member or the connection between the arm and the valve stem must be fairly loose so as to avoid binding of the parts during their movements. Any looseness in the guide member or in the connection between the valve stem and the operating member makes it possible for the reseating of the valve to be somewhat erratic with the result that the valve may not always close the discharge opening. if there is not sufiicient looseness in the regions indicated, the actuating arm or the valve stem, or both, are likely to be bent or otherwise adversely affected so as to interfere with proper seating of the valve.

An object of this invention is to provide flushing mechanism for toilet tanks of the kind utilizing a ball type valve and including means for positively constraining the valve for movements in a truly vertical path in alignment with the discharge opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide adjustable mounting means for the valve guide assembly and which is adjustable relatively to the tank so as to be capable of guiding the valve in the manner referred to above in a large number of different size tanks.

A further object of the invention is to provide valve supporting and guiding apparatus for flush valve mechanisms and which is capable of being extended and retracted so as to permit it to be used with both tall and short water tanks.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flush mechanism of the kind referred to which is capable of use either as original equipment in toilet devices or as replacement equipment for defective valve mechanisms.

Another object of the invention is to provide flush valve mechanism of the kind described which is easy to install,

trouble free in operation, and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in detail or will become apparent from the following description when it is considered in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention and located within a water tank of conventional construction, parts of the tank being broken away to reveal the flushing mechanism;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view of the valve guide assembly, with parts thereof being shown in section; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, sectional detail of a portion of the apparatus.

Apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention is adapted for use in a water tank T of conventional construction having side walls 2 and 3, end walls 4 and 5, and a bottom wall 6. The bottom wall customarily has a discharge opening 7 therein through which water in the tank may flow to a toilet bowl (not shown). The opening 7 may be surrounded by a boss 8 which forms a seat for a conventional ball valve member 9 that is equipped with a threaded coupling 1% in which is received the correspondingly threaded end of an upstanding rod or stem 11 having an eye or loop 12 at its free end. The bottom wall 6 of the tank also may be apertured to accommodate a Water delivery pipe 13 by means of which the tank may be filled with water to a desired level, the pipe 13 being equipped with an automatically controlled shut-off mechanism 14 of conventional construction which is actuated under the influence of a float 15 in the usual manner.

The apparatus described thus far is conventional and forms no part of the invention per se, except for the manner in which it cooperates with the latter.

Valve guiding and supporting means is designated generally by the reference character 16 and comprises a tubular guide element 17 having its end Walls 18 and 19 apertured for reception of the valve stem 11. The openings in the walls 18 and 19 are just sufi'lciently larger than the diameter of the stem 11 to permit free sliding movement of the latter relatively to the valve element 17, and the distance between the walls 18 and 19 is sufficiently great as to provide bearing surfaces that assure the stems being maintained coaxial with the openings in the walls 18 and 19. The length of the valve guide 17 may vary, but a distance of about one and one-fourth inches between the walls 18 and 1s will provide the requisite spacing between the guide openings.

As is indicated in FIGURES 1 and 3, the outer surface of the valve element 17 may be threaded for reception of a tubular sleeve 20 having an end wall 21 Provided with a correspondingly threaded opening so as to enable the guide element 17 to be adjusted longitudinally of the sleeve 20. The elements 17 and 20 may be maintained in any desired position of adjustment by means of a threaded washer 22. The sleeve 20 is adapted to be telescoped with another sleeve 23 which is open at both ends. One end of the sleeve 23 may be provided with vertical slots 24 and the external surface of that end of the sleeve may be provided with a downwardly tapering threaded portion 25 which receives a threaded nut 26 for the purpose of enabling the members 29 and 23 to be clamped together in any one of a number of adjusted positions. The opposite end of the sleeve 23 also may be threaded as at 27 and preferably it is provided with a correspondingly threaded lock nut 28.

Means is provided for supporting the valve guiding and supporting apparatus 16 and comprises a platform 29 having a panel member 31} joined to depending flanges 31. The panel is provided with an opening 32 of such size as to receive the sleeve 23. but the opening 32 is not large enough to pass the lock nut 28. Upon assembly of the sleeve 23 with the platform 29, the upper threaded end 27 of the sleeve is extended through the opening 32 from below the platform so that the upper surface of the sleeve extends above the level of the panel 36. An annular nut 33, larger in size than the size of the opening 32, then may be threaded on the upper end of the sleeve 23 so as to sandwich the panel 13 between itself and the nut 28 and enable the valve. the valve guide and the valve guide supporting elements to be suspended vertically from the platform.

Supported on the platform 29 by means of rivets 34 or the like is an upstanding, generally U-shaped bracket 35 in which is journaled a shaft 36. A grooved positioning pulley 37 is fixed on the shaft 36. The pulley 37 is adapted to engage a chain or other flexible motion transmitting element 38 and position the latter in such manner that its vertical lifting portion 39 will be axially aligned with the discharge opening 7 at the bottom of the tank. The lower end of the lifting portion 39 of the chain is provided with a. loop or hook (not shown) which engages the eye 12 of the valve stem 11 so that an upward pull on the chain portion 39 will cause the valve 9 to be lifted off its seat 8.

In order to enable the positioning pulley 37 to align the lifting portion 39 of the chain with the discharge opening 7, the platform is provided with adjustable means for mounting the platform in any selected position within the tank T. The adjustable mounting means comprises a pair of hollow rod members 40 provided at corresponding ends with cup shaped elements 41 within each of which is secured a deformable pad 42 formed of rubber or the like. The other end of each of the rods 40 loosely receives a threaded extension rod 43 provided with an cup 41 and a pad 42 like those previously described. Each of the threaded rods 43 carries a correspondingly threaded coupling element which is loosely mounted on the adjacent end of the rod 40. Rotation of the coupling element 44 adjusts the rods 43 inwardly and outwardly of the rods 40.

As is best indicated in FIGURE 3, the rods 40 are removably received in bayonet slots 45 formed in the flanges 31 of the platform 29. The platform is adjustable longitudinally of the rods 40, but may be fixed in any adjusted position relative thereto by means of set screws 46, one of which is shown in FIGURE 3 as passing through a flange 31 and engaging one of the rods 40 in such manner as to seat both rods 40 firmly at the blind ends of the bayonet slots 45.

Toilet tanks of conventional construction include an actuating handle 47 mounted externally of the tank T and being fixed to a shaft 48 which extends inwardly of the tank. Apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention includes a grooved pulley or disc 49 which may be threaded on the shaft 48 and locked in the desired position by means of lock nuts 50. The desired position of the actuating disc 49 is co-planar with the positioning pulley 37 so as to permit the free end of the chain 38 to be fixed t0 the periphery of the disc 49 and, due to the co-planar relationship between the disc 49 and the pulley 37, operation of the actuating handle 47 will not cause the chain 38 to be untracked from the disc 49.

When the parts of the apparatus are assembled in the manner illustrated in FIGURES l and 2, rotation of the operating disc 49 in a counterclockwise direction will cause the chain 38 to be wrapped partially around the disc so as to cause the lifting portion of the chain to exert an upward pull on the valve 9 and unseat the latter from the opening 7, whereupon the contents of the tank will be discharged through the opening. When the tank is nearly drained, the valve will move downwardly by gravity in the conventional manner and will be capa ble of reseating itself perfectly on its seat 8 inasmuch as the valve stem 11 is maintained by the guide elements 17 and its associated structure in vertical, coaxial alignment with the valve seat 8 and the discharge opening 7. Inasmuch as the lifting chain portion 39 also is coaxial with the valve guide 17, manipulation of the flush mechanism will not impose any strain or binding forces on the parts of the valve mechanism which could cause it to malfunction. Consequently, the valve mechanism should be trouble free for the entire life of the valve element 9.

Tanks produced by various manufacturers differ as to their heights and the distance between the side walls thereof. It is to compensate for dif erences in tank height that the valve guide supporting members 20 and 23 are relatively extensible and retractable and it is to compensate for differences in the distance between the side walls of tanks that the platform 29 is provided with laterally adjustable mounting devices 40-44. Because of the adjustability of the apparatus, it is adapted to be mounted within any tank of known construction and currently in use.

The purpose in forming the wall engaging pads 42 of rubber or similar deformable material is two-fold. Firstly, the frictional characteristics of rubber and like materials minimizes any tendency on the part of the platform to slip relatively to the tank walls. Secondly, the deformability of the rubber compensates for any tendency on the part of the installer of the apparatus to extend the rod portion 43 a distance sufiicient to risk breaking of the tank walls. It is contemplated that the pads 42 initially will project beyond the ends of their supporting members 41 a distance such that engagement between the members 41 and the tank walls will have caused sufi'lcient force to have been exerted on the pads 4-2 to assure a non-slip engagement between the pads andthe adjacent walls. Engagement of the flanges of the members 41 with the tank walls will signal the workman that further extension of the mounting rods is undesirable.

The disclosed embodiment is representative of the presently preferred form of the invention but is intended to be illustrative rather than definitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A flushing mechanism for use with a tank having side walls and a bottom with a discharge opening therein, said opening normally being closed by a vertically movable valve member, said mechanism comprising support means; valve guide means supported by said support means for guiding said valve member in a vertical path; motion transmitting means having a lifting section connected to said valve member for lifting the latter off said opening; positioning means carried by said support means and constantly in engagement with said transmitting means for positioning the lifting section thereof; adjustable mounting means for adjustably mounting said support means at a selected position between said side walls of said tank such that said guide means and said lifting section of said motion transmitting means are coaxial with each other and with said discharge opening; and means removably mounting said support means on said adjustable mounting means.

2. The mechanism set forth in claim 1 wherein said valve guide means comprises a pair of longitudinally extensible and retractable tubular members telescoped one within another, and means acting on said tubular members for clamping them in any one of a selected number of tween said platform and at least one of said extensible and longitudinally adjusted positions. retractable members for fixing said platform in any select- 3 The mechanism set forth in claim 1 wherein said ed position of adjustment relative to said members.

support means comprises a platform and wherein said adjustable mounting means comprises a number of lex- 5 References Cited in the file of this patent Iensible and retractable members connected to said p at- N form said carrying resilient means for engagement with UNITED STATES PATENIS the side walls of said tank. 2,412,738 Martin Dec. 17, 1946 4. The mechanism set forth in claim 3 wherein said 2,887,690 Hudkins May 26, 1959 removable mounting means includes means reacting be- 10 2,961,662 Howard NOV. 29, 1960 

